Can personal protective equipment (PPE) - such as helmets, safety glasses, construction uniforms, boots, and gloves - be counted as an item under the waste management credit?
Project location: Panama City, Panama (Central America)
Green Building Consultant
LEEDuser Basic Member
20 thumbs up
I believe the intent is of this credit is to talk about building materials such as drywall, wood, scrap metals, brick and concrete. While I do think that if gloves and such make their way into the trash bins you do need to weigh and include that in the total waste calculator, I think you would be hard pressed to take any credit for 're-use' of essentially reusable clothing. Unless something is very unique about your project (and pretty wasteful to have single-use helmets...) I don't think uniforms should be considered as a unique material stream. If a glove or so makes it's way into the waste bins, it is likely just "Commingled Waste". I recommend sticking to the major Material Types as shown in the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Calculator.